Anderson wants to bring integrity back to DA's office

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Harris County will soon have a new District Attorney running the show after an election night stunner. Voters wanted change in the DA's office and decided to replace Pat Lykos. The vote turned out to be a landslide win for Republican challenger Mike Anderson.

Anderson does have another election to win in November and is not overlooking that. But he can't help but think ahead at least a little bit.

It was a quiet Tuesday night at Pat Lykos' election watch party.

"I just wasn't aggressive," she said.

Lykos, running for re-election, maintains she simply didn't work hard enough on politics to win the race.

"I was being a DA, not a politician," she said.

For Anderson, it was just the opposite.

"It's an honor to be standing in front of you," he said Tuesday night.

And on Wednesday we asked him to speak about the now defeated DA. We asked him what should the voters of Harris County thank Pat Lykos for?

"I think she came in at a time when the office was in real trouble and she did the best she could.I just don't think it worked out," said Anderson.

He will face a Democratic challenger in November, but if he wins he already has plans for immediate changes.

"First, I think it's important to get back integrity," Anderson said.

He wants to free up prosecutors to stop worrying about wins and losses and focus on justice, he will end the DWI divert program that pushes first-time offenders into treatment before trial, and stop the Lykos policy that prevented prosecutions of minor drug cases, even if it means an increased jail population.

"You don't make decisions based on jail population," he said.

The office is still under a special prosecutor's investigation over the now months-old grand jury probe and Anderson does not want to get in the way of it. However, he told us Wednesday he wants the probe to finish and if there was wrongdoing, for it to be punished.

It's not just philosophy he wants to change, he's already identified at least one member of the Lykos team not likely to be part of his office.

He does not see how Rachel Palmer, a prosecutor who took the Fifth during a grand jury probe, can continue if he takes over.

"I don't know how you can gain the public trust or regain the image you want to have in the public if you have someone in the office that the public believes committed a crime and just won't testify about it," Anderson said.

During the campaign, Anderson was accused of wanting to bring back a "win at all costs" DA's office. He doesn't agree and sees his brand of justice as a way to restore the integrity he wants crime victims and the accused to both see from the office.

"Take that oath for what it means and do justice. Justice sometimes means you dismiss a case, sometimes it means a guy gets the death penalty. It doesn't always mean either one. Everything is different and you have to have the freedom to use your experience to make the right call," he said.

We invited Pat Lykos to join us for an interview. She was at the office, but we were told she was too busy with work to conduct one.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics »

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Lykos falls to Anderson in Harris Co. DA race

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Pat Lykos has lost her position as Harris County district attorney. The incumbent fell to her opponent, retired judge Mike Anderson, in the GOP primary.

Late Tuesday night, Lykos conceded to Anderson after he garnered 63 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.

Lykos had started off Tuesday seemingly confident about her chances for winning, telling us, "My challenger has run a very negative campaign against me and so we're going to find out tonight whether people want you to run a positive campaign -- as I have -- or what he's done."

But after the polls closed and more votes kept going to Anderson, she became more realistic and told Eyewitness News that she did not run a good campaign, saying she spent too much time working as a district attorney and not enough time on the campaign trail fighting against her opponents.

"All the things that we've accomplished, I reckon I should've bragged about it. I should've started my campaign earlier to get the word out to the people but there was so much to get done, and so I focused on the office," Lykos said. "Regardless of what the final outcome is, I'm going to continue as district attorney until December 31 and we're going to do great things."

Meanwhile, the mood was very upbeat over at Anderson's headquarters at Blanco's in the Galleria. A lot of his supporters were clapping and hugging, feeling optimistic about how the race will turn out.

Anderson called this a grassroots campaign and thanked his supporters.

"I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all of you people who are here, all of my friends," Anderson said.

Anderson was a prosecutor for 17 years and has handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to capital murders. He's also been a special crimes prosecutor and worked in the major offenders division. Most recently, he was a state district judge for 12 years.

OTHER HARRIS COUNTY RACES

In another Harris County judicial race, Elaine Palmer has likely defeated incumbent Steven Kirkland for 215th civil court. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Palmer garnered 62 percent of the vote.

Palmer had waged a campaign war against Kirkland, with a radio ad and flyer highlighting the incumbent's two drunk driving arrests more than 20 years ago. Kirkland, who's been sober for 27 years, had called the campaign ads offensive and untruthful.

In the race for Harris County Precinct 7 Constable, incumbent May Walker has defeated her four challengers. She had garnered 69 percent of the votes with 99 percent of the precincts reporting.

Controversy arose in this race when Hayes accused one of Walker's employees of harassing him when he tried to place an election sign next to Walker's.

In the crowded GOP race for Harris County sheriff, the race is too close to call. However, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Louis Guthrie are Harold Hueszel are leading with 31 and 21 percent of the vote, respectively. They will face off again in a July 31 run-off election, and that winner will then face Democratic candidate and incumbent Sheriff Adrian Garcia in November.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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